CAREER QUERIES HOTLINE
Pervin Malhotra, tribune’s career expert answers all your career queries.

Enrolment in govt schools on decline
Shubhadeep Choudhury
Primary education in unrecognised schools is becoming increasingly popular in Haryana, leading to a decline in enrolment in government schools. A study conducted in four districts of Haryana by the National Institute of Educational Planning Administration (NEIPA) found that enrolment in unrecognised schools was doubling every year and despite various steps taken to improve government schools, their "demand was not increasing as was intended".

For an in-depth understanding of what it takes to get into the various Civil Services, how to tackle the Prelims and Mains, and the crucial Interview, you could refer to "CARING’s Guide to Careers in Civil Services".

A BBA is a relatively new and interesting course that provides you with an overview of business management in a nutshell.

However, it doesn’t offer much scope by itself either in India or even elsewhere, unless you follow it up with a good MBA or other professional postgraduate courses in finance or marketing or human resources.

You will then start off as a management trainee or executive manager or assistant manager in a business organisation, manufacturing company, export or trading house, financial sevices sector, banks, NGOs, public sector enterprises or MNCs.

In the private sector, promotions are essentially based on your efficiency and enterprising skills while in the public sector, seniority is the determining factor. Needless to say, the kind of job you will get and the salary you will be offered will to a large extent depend on the reputation of the B-School you graduate from.

For an in-depth understanding of the field as well as detailed info on various courses and career opportunities in management, you might like to consult "CARING’s Guide to Careers in Management".

A As I can perceive from your query you are not very much geared up for a career in computers. Since you have been working with your father it would be better if you acquire those skills which will help you to expand your business in the future.

As far as MBA correspondence is concerned you will certainly gain in professional knowledge but miss out on classroom interaction and dissection of case studies, which form an essential core of the MBA programme. After all, management is essentially a practical hands-on discipline rather than a mere academic field of study. If possible, therefore do try and enroll for a part-time MBA instead so that you can continue to work alongside.

Also, you may look at PG courses in various disciplines in pharmacy i.e., Sales, Marketing and Management being offered by India’s first pharmaceutical management institute, the Jaipur-based Poddar Management & Training Institute.

A Biochemistry is the study of the chemical composition of living systems of animals, plants, insects, viruses and micro-organisms. Accordingly, it is concerned with the study of chemical combinations and reactions involved in a variety of life processes such as metabolism, growth, heredity, etc.

Besides teaching, the main areas open to you are pure research or research-based assignments in chemical and allied industries (chemical, pharmaceutical, agro-chemical) or the food industry.

There is an increasing demand for biochemists involved in biochemical genetic research not only in the country but also abroad, especially for those with a specialisation in cell biology, genetics, biochemical methods and research.

While MPhil or PhD is necessary for working as a scientist, you could work as a research assistant straight after MSc in research-oriented organisations, both industrial and governmental

You can also access the sales and marketing jobs in leading pharmaceutical companies.

A The eligibility for most of the diploma-level courses in Interior Design offered by government and private polytechnics is a pass in Class XII. But if you are desirous of joining the School of Interior Design, Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad, which offers one of the best courses combining architecture and interior design, then you must opt for the Science stream in Class XI with Physics, Chemistry and Maths as subjects. CEPT offers a 5-year course. Eligibility is 50% aggregate in Class XII and 65% aggregate in Class X. Selection is through a written test followed by an Interview.

A The following institutions offer 1-yr diploma courses in Creative Writing in English/Hindi:

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Maidan Garhi, New Delhi 110068. Eligibility: 10+2. Those without 10+2 can also enrol for the course if they are 21 yrs or above.

UP Rajarshi Tandon Open University, 17 Maharshi Dayanand Marg (Thornhill Road), Allahabad 211001. Eligibility: 10+2.

A The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a professional accountancy body in the UK that operates internationally also offers its courses in Audit and Financial Management in India. The ACCA exam is divided into three stages and conducted thrice a year at Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi under the supervision of the British Council. There is no age limit. You can register with ACCA after 10+2 (provided you have scored 65% marks in Eng & Math) while BCom students can claim an exemption from papers 2 & 4. Those who have passed CA/MBA or MCom can claim exemption from all 4 papers from the foundation stage. You can contact their India representatives, MAP Consultants, 124, Sector-14, Gurgaon-122001, Haryana Ph: 0124-321669/325207. E-mail: map.acca@axcess.net.in or their web site on http://www.acca.co.uk.

A You could suggest your friends the following women’s universities:

Banasthali Vidyapith, PO Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan 304022

Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University, 1 Nathibai Thackersey Road, Bombay 400020, Maharashtra

Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam, Chittoor District, Tirupati 517502

Mother Teresa Women’s University, Anandagiri 4th Street, Kodaikanal 624102, Tamil Nadu.

While MCA course is offered at all these universities, postgraduate course in Archaeology and PhD course in Geography are not conducted as per our records. However, for further information you could contact the respective universities.

A The Aeronautical Society of India (ASI) conducts an Associate Membership Examination. The good news is that Sections A and B of this examination have been recognised by the Ministry of Education, at par with a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from an Indian university. Accordingly, you stand eligible to apply for positions of an Engineer with the Armed Forces.

A The best way to go about improving your verbal skills would be to make your own efforts to master the spoken language. This is possible by consciously listening to English programmes on radio and TV, and paying attention to correct pronunciation and intonation. Practice reading aloud from newspapers and periodicals (in privacy of course!). Use the tape-recorder to record and review your process.

Avail of every opportunity to converse in English. The more, the better! Ask a well meaning friend to help you out and correct you wherever necessary. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. English is not our mother tongue. So its but natural that we are not hundred percent fluent in it. However, practice makes perfect.

Once you overcome the initial hesitation, you will be surprised how quickly your vocabulary and conversational skills improve. Just try and see.

Enrolment in govt schools on decline
Shubhadeep Choudhury

Primary education in unrecognised schools is becoming increasingly popular in Haryana, leading to a decline in enrolment in government schools. A study conducted in four districts of Haryana by the National Institute of Educational Planning Administration (NEIPA) found that enrolment in unrecognised schools was doubling every year and despite various steps taken to improve government schools, their "demand was not increasing as was intended".

The study by the NIEPA of the districts of Hisar, Sirsa, Kaithal and Jind, the districts covered under the centrally funded District Primary Education Programme (DPEP), was part of its report on the implementation of the first phase of the project which aimed to provide all access to elementary education. However, despite the Centre providing 85 per cent of the expenses on primary education in these four districts, there was a decline in enrolment in government schools.

The unaided private schools fall in two categories, recognised and unrecognised. The state government has no control on the unrecognised schools, which are neither required to register nor asked to submit any data or returns to the Education Department.

Though the state government has imposed a condition that all students of Grade V seeking admission in Grade VI must pass public examination which is open to students of government schools alone, this measure, too, has reportedly failed to check the growth of unrecognised institutions due to inherent loopholes.

In Haryana there is a provision that anyone can be directly admitted to any class at the primary stage if the parents submit an affidavit that the child could not attend school due to some reason beyond their control and that he/she was studying at home.

"The unrecognised schools send their children for final examination extensively using the affidavit route. The district administration does not disclose the number of such admissions", the NIEPA report, published recently, says. Unauthorised schools not only cock a snook at government rules by encouraging the parents to file false affidavits, the teachers of these schools also get salaries as low as one-sixth or one-seventh of the salary drawn by a regular teacher in a government school.

Besides, the unrecognised schools are not enumerated for educational statistics . It is feared that the first phase of the DPEP, which started off in 1994, may have poor figures in terms of enrolment because of the presence of unrecognised schools when the project comes to a close in March next.

The NIEPA found that Sirsa and Hisar districts had 28 per cent enrolment in private schools. The proportion of children in unrecognised school in Jind and Kaithal was 16 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively. The study also found that 70 to 75 per cent of the unrecognised schools had come up in Haryana during the nineties. This was significantly higher than the corresponding expansion of government schools in these districts.

One of the reasons why parents prefer private schools to government schools was stated to be that in private schools each class had a teacher and there was no multigrade teaching. However, the most important thing about private schools was stated to be that they either taught English as a language from Grade I or impart education through English medium. Whether the state government policy of teaching English as a subject in primary schools will offset the trend will be known after some years.

The study says what is needed is that government schools should compete with private schools in terms of quality of access, efficiency and performance standards.